Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Lets fly a Kite

Right,

So I have started playing with the Kite shape with the English Paper Piecing.

I only started last Friday night so it is not finished yet, but Jenny has asked me to post about it so far and to show you how the shape fits together and creates bigger designs. Jenny has a picture of a quilt using the Kite and has been talking about it for weeks now. Jenny made another quilt instead with the kite shape and it is just beautiful, using scraps and in bright jewel tone fabrics.

I will admit that when I first saw this other quilt it didn't appeal to me. All I have seen is a black and whie copy and the diagram. But that night an idea starting floating around in the empty space of the mind and by morning I had decided to try it out. So it was good that I did not see a colour picture and not have the chance to let the design work itself out in my head. No preconceived ideas so to speak.

So here we go...

The diagram and quilt layouts

The Block

The Quilt

You start with 3 Kite shapes

Then sew them together to make a 60 degree triangle

They then fit in like this - 6 triangles will make a hexagon

and this

this is my star so far, it will eventually form a hexagon about 18" across from dark point to dark point I have used the 1 and half inch kite and got the template to make the cutting very quick. But i will say that this is not how they should be put together, the triangles go together in rows. I only did it this way to see the fabrics work and I was impatient to see it together before selecting all fabrics. So the triangles then become a larger hexagon when all the pieces are together.

Also with the b&w picture you only see values and this is what I have done and not necessarily the actual print when putting this together and maybe the spot was not the nest choice because it is a light value, but it is fun and I will keep going this way, just using values and any fabric that I like. This will be scrappy in style but bright and fresh in colour. I have used Kaffe in the centre, you could also fussy cut the centre kites to create a feature of the centre or kalidescope effect.

I glued my papers this time only to try it out. I have no preference to glue or sew baste. Both do the job very well and can be quick. I just wanted to try it. At The Patchwork Angel this friday and every LAST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH there is a paper piecing group starting to meet. I will bring in my star to show anyone who is interested.

I have also played with the clamshell shape but have not gotten as far as the kites

2 comments:

I saw this block years ago in a magazine. I believe the name given was Rose Star. I have been working off and on with these kite shaped pieces and have had the best luck just handpiecing them. The quilt I fell in love with had black fabric used for the outside points, and I must say the ones I have completed and assembled are stunning. Good luck with yours, I'm sure it will be fantastic!